Shattered Soul
by KuroRoy
Summary: Who could overcome Aizen's tactics? Trapped in an inescapable situation, Ishida Uryuu is forced to make a hard decision. By shattering a strong bond, he becomes Ichigo's worst enemy...and Soul Society's too. Can a shattered bond be repaired? Dark/Angst
1. Betrayal

A/N: Takes place close to the end of the Arrancar arc. The captains from Seireiti never came to rescue Ichigo and the others.

Dark/Angst/Violence. Perhaps some romance.

Oh, and I'm looking for BRs...PM me or leave a review if you can be mine. ;) Sorry if I missed out on typos in here.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. If I did, then Ishida would have become an Espada already. Along with Ukitake. -_-

* * *

Pain. That horrible feeling of pain. The agony of your insides being torn inside out.

And Ishida Uryuu cursed. He cursed himself for failing; failing all his friends and the ones whom he had sworn to protect.

The hot sensation of blood filled his throat and forced its way out of his mouth, leaving behind the coppery taste of iron. "Damn…you…"

His eyes momentarily settled on Renji Abarai. The red-haired Shinigami had long passed out before him; he lay on the ground next to Ishida, his face still twisted in pain. It was possible he had already died.

"Damn you!" Ishida said again, this time even louder.

Szayelaporro Grantz, Espada 8, laughed. He smirked at his helpless victim and held up Renji's doll, shaking it mockingly. "I'm rather surprised you've managed to stay conscious, Quincy," the Espada taunted. "Now – what other _painful _organs do you wish to lose?"

Ishida glared at the Espada, placing both hands on the ground and using the last of his strength to push himself up. A spasm of pain shot through his left hand, and it numbed, causing him to fall onto the ground once again.

Szayel sneered. "So, Quincy. You never imagined that you would fall before the mighty and immortal Szayelapporo. I hold your fate within the palm of my hand –or more accurately, the tips of my fingers." Szayel popped open Ishida's doll and pulled out an all too familiar object.

"He-heart…" Ishida heard himself gasp.

"That's right." The corners of Szayel's mouth stretched into a wider smile. "Your heart. Or should I say, your pathetic human heart. Those things are so polluted and full of all these worthless desires that they would never be able to achieve in their lifetime." The Espada scoffed. "There was never a chance for you to beat me. Now, remember this as you pass on to the next life: Szayelapporo Grantz, the Arrancar who sent you to your doom."

So this was it. Ishida lowered his gaze. He was to die in this godforsaken place. This place of his sworn enemies, the place where he failed everyone he had ever known.

His felt his left hand close around his Quincy cross tightly. At least he would die for his friends. He'd tried his best to protect Renji; everyone. Maybe even that Pesche and Donda Chakka. Talking about those two, they'd probably escaped and gone somewhere already.

Szayel broke his line of thoughts with a chuckle. "Finished thinking? Well then…Sayonara, Ishida Uryuu." The Espada lifted the little fragile heart between his purple fingernails.

Ishida closed his eyes, ready for the pain and the coming of a never-ending darkness. He waited – one second, one minute, two…what seemed like an eternity. But his death never came.

Ishida slowly opened his eyes. A new Espada had arrived on the scene. The Espada's cloak was tattered on one side, revealing the number '4'. He had short black hair, and one side of his head was covered with a Hollow mask.

The Espada's hand was closed around Szayel's, preventing him from destroying the bond that still held Ishida to life. He spoke: "Szayel, have you forgotten orders? I thought you knew better."

The new Espada had a cold, silky voice. His green eyes were fixed upon Szayel's in obvious disappoint.

"Fuck off." Szayel swore at the Espada and tossed away Ishida's doll. "Next time, don't you dare interrupt me when I'm having such fun."

The Espada 4's eyes never moved from Szayel's. "Having fun doesn't mean going against Aizen-sama's orders. Now leave and clean up whatever mess you've caused."

Szayel glared at the other Espada, then left without a word.

Ishida remained upon the ground, having stared at the conversation with a paralyzed fear and astonishment. They let me live? Aizen's orders? Why?

"Quincy." Now the Espada 4 was looking straight at him. "Come with me."

Ishida opened his mouth to argue, but ended up coughing out more blood.

The Espada frowned. "Szayel overdid it with you, didn't he? That fool..." Before Ishida could react, the Espada had tossed the Quincy over his shoulder.

Ishida winced in pain as the Espada began to walk away from the battle scene. "Where-where are you taking me?" He managed to gasp out a few words between painful spasms.

"To Aizen-sama." The Espada's reply was so casual that it scared Ishida.

"Wh-why?"

"Don't ask questions. Aizen-sama's words are the law. Do not question the law."

It seemed to Ishida only a matter of minutes when they reached Los Noches. The Espada traveled through a long series of corridors, finally arriving upon a huge room. "I've brought him, Aizen-sama."

Ishida felt himself lowered to the ground slowly. He scrambled to prop himself up in a better position to better analyze the situation.

Aizen, ex-captain and traitor, currently sat on a grand white throne before him. On either side of him stood Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tousen. It wasn't a surprising sight. Ishida let his gaze sweep over the room. There were two Arrancars that stood guarding the door. It was a huge space; almost like a battle arena. There were no windows and the only escape way was the guarded door.

"There's no way out of this one, Uryuu." Aizen's words made Ishida glance up in surprise.

Ishida's eyes narrowed; who did Aizen think he was? The man was shaming him by calling him by his first name. "What do you want?" It was the only question that bothered him at the moment.

"So blunt, my friend." Aizen smiled. To Ishida, it looked reassuring, but sinister at the same time. "We've recently discovered some new information. Some information on how Hougyoku could be awakened in an instant…with tenfolds of its original power."

He held up his hand and Ishida could see the glimmer of a bright blue jewel. "But how, you ask?" Aizen continued. He smiled as in leaned in. "By using you, of course."

* * *

The double doors to the Sereiti library slowly slid open. Ukitake Juushiro and Kyoraku Shunsei strolled in, both talking in low hushes about the upcoming events.

"Research again?" Kyoraku sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't understand how you do this day after day, baa-san. I'd like to just lie in my nice spot on the roof and stare at the sky all day long. Or I'd rather gather myself a few hot girls and hang out together." He grinned and did a small pervy dance in front of Ukitake, sweeping his pink robe all around him.

Ukitake barely spared a glance at his childhood friend; he ran a hand through his long, white hair and sighed. "Where do we start today, friend?"

Kyoraku groaned and adjusted his bamboo hat. "I don't know. I asked Nanao to gather some people and check out all the wider areas where you'd discovered Aizen's reiatsu."

"Any success?" Ukitake paused at a nearby bookshelf and extracted a book.

"Nope." Kyoraku sighed. "Aizen's rather good at wiping all signs of his reiatsu, isn't he?"

"He was a captain, Shunsei. I think it's necessary to have the ability to do something like that in order to become captain rank." Ukitake paused at the end of a long hallway, placing his hands upon the wall before him. "Yamamoto-sensei gave me permission to check out this part of the library today."

He ran his hands over a certain section of the wall and murmured to himself. Certain sections of the wall began to shift itself, moving aside to reveal a huge, hidden part of the Sereiti library.

"Wow…" Kyoraku whistled in admiration as he followed Ukitake inside. "I never knew they managed to hide such a huge place here."

Ukitake sighed and lifted his head to gaze at the books around him. "Following what I said earlier, Yamamoto-sensei had this sealed a long time ago since it contained too much valuable and dangerous information." He walked over to the nearest bookshelf and began searching through the entire hallway. "Apparently, Aizen's already discovered this place beforehand. Yamamoto-sensei came over yesterday to return a book he had borrowed some time ago and discovered races of Aizen's reiatsu all over the place. Now, he's entrusted the searching to only both of us."

"Ha!" Kyoraku grinned and shoved past Ukitake. "Now that gives me something to be motivated about. The old man's actually depending on us."

"Since he has," Ukitake said. "Let's search out all the books with Aizen's reiatsu by today. I would like to begin reading through them by sunset."

"Sure, Ukitake-daichou." Kyoraku mock saluted and disappeared in a long alley of bookshelves.

With two hard-workers combined, they finished collecting all the books they could find as the sun begin to set in Sereiti. Kyoraku emerged from around a bookshelf with an armload of books. He sighed and dumped the stack on a table that Ukitake had set up earlier. "That's about it. Now I can finally rest!" He sighed and sank onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling as if it were the sky.

"Not yet, Shunsei." Ukitake had already began to read the first of the many books before him. "I've separated the books into two even piles. That one's for you. Let's try and finish as many books by midnight."

"You're kidding me, Ukitake!" Kyoraku glanced at his stack of books and groaned loudly. "It's comparable to a mountain! There's like a hundred books in that thing!"

"Hurry up, Shunsei." Ukitake had his eyes focused on an old book in his hands.

"All right, all right. But I just got comfortable lying here. Would you mind tossing a book to me from there?" Kyoraku was lying on the floor in his signature position, head propped on his hand. He grinned lazily at Ukitake.

Ukitake pulled out a random book from Kyoraku's stack and threw it carelessly at him.

"Ouch!" The thick book slammed into Kyoraku's face. "At least look where you throw it! I was enjoying myself here!"

"Sorry. You all right?" Ukitake barely lifted his eyes from the book the entire time.

Kyoraku grumbled to himself and lazily picked up the book. "Such a boring…" The book suddenly fell apart in his hands, the binding in the middle torn down from top to bottom. "Ahhhhhhhhhh! Ukitake! Look what've you done! The book tore apart!"

"Wh-what?" Ukitake set down his book and took the torn book from Kyoraku's hands. He frowned as he ran his gaze over the torn binding. "Hmm…it looks like the book's been fiddled with quite recently." He began ripping the book apart slowly from the inside.

Kyoraku stepped back, a shocked look on his face. "What-what in my zanpaktou's name are you doing, Juushiro?! Yamamoto-sensei's gonna fry and burn our-"

The book suddenly snapped clean into two, then a small scroll fell out. Kyoraku's eyes widened as Ukitake began unfurling the scroll. "That…that is…"

"Aizen's own research, I presume." Ukitake's face darkened as he scanned down the scroll. "It says here he's found a way to awake Hougyaku before its set time."

"Wha-what?!"

"Based on these complicated drawings, I think you form a high concentration of spirit particles and let Hougyoku stay in it for a while."

"But no one can do that! As I recall, only the Bount could do that, but they no longer exist!"

"Shunsei, you're missing a huge part of history here. That Quincy." Ukitake frowned and scanned over the calculations. "Even so, I don't think it's possible to even gather so much reiatsu and then concentrate it into such a small place. You would need to gather up about 1/3 of Sereiti's own reiatsu. No one's soul is such as powerful to do something like this."

Kyoraku snatched the scroll from Ukitake, his face serious now. "But knowing that Aizen, he'd definitely find a way. After all, he really has nothing to do right now..."

"And that Quincy, along with Ichigo, left to Hueco Mundo in order to rescue Orihime-san not long ago!" Ukitake interrupted. "Shunsei – go and inform Yamamoto-sensei of our current situation. We also need back-up. Also, take this scroll with you."

"Right away." Kyoraku rushed out of the library.

Ukitake sighed as he began coughing severely again. _One thing that worries me. Aizen's not the type of person that would leave something as valuable as this behind. Did he do it on purpose? And more importantly, is this even true? _

_No matter. We will need take action against him both ways. Hopefully, the back-up will reach Ichigo and the others in time…

* * *

_Ichigo swore loudly as he was tossed onto the floor; again and again, his weak body flapping like a doll. The Arrancar seemed to be having fun. It laughed loudly, picking up the Shinigami by the scruff of his robe and swinging him violently throughout the air. "Nnoitra-sama, should I finished him off?"

"Yeah." Espada 5, Nnoitra Jiruga, looked bored as hell. He swung his huge battle weapon over his shoulder and prepared to walk away. "He's done for-"

"Wait, Nnoitra." A new voice cut through the air. "The plans have changed. We are on orders to take the Shinigami to Aizen-sama."

The Arrancar stopped shaking its fist just long enough to allow Ichigo a glimpse of the new arrivals. Two small and fat Arrancars were kneeling before Nnoitra. Nnoitra was frowning as he conversed with the Arrancars. He turned and looked up. "Tesla, let him go. Aizen-sama's made a change of plans. We have to take the fool and that girl to Aizen."

"Now?" Tesla lowered Ichigo to the ground and released his zanpaktou. "And I was having fun..."

"Yeah, yeah...now. Drag him to the 5th Tower. I'll take the girl."

Ichigo coughed painfully as the Arrancar seized him by the robe again. The small party began making its way towards the heart of Los Noches.

"Yo, Nnoitra!" At the sounds of yet another arrival made Ichigo look up. Another Espada had joined the party, carrying what seemed like a dead body over his shoulder.

Ichigo looked closer. His eyes widened. _No way... _"Rukia!" he shouted before he could stop himself. "Rukia- no! Are you ok?!" He struggled feebly against the Arrancar's grip, but was unable to overpower it. _Orihime...now, Rukia, why?! _

"Calm down, shinigami. Struggling will do you no good. They're not actually dead; Aizen just wants to see them." Nnoitra peered into the distance. "Besides, we're almost there."

Ichigo looked up again. They had arrived in front of a huge and white double door.

Nnoitra stepped up, talking as he did so. "Nnoitra Jiruga, Espada 5."

The other Espada stepped up. "Zommari Leroux, Espada 7. We have arrived on orders with the people you've requested."

There was a moment of silence. "Ah, Nnoitra and Zommari." Aizen sounded pleased from inside the room. "Come inside."

The double doors swung open, allowing passageway for newcomers. Once inside, the Arracancars threw Orihime and Rukia to the ground, but Tesla had a firm grip on Ichigo. The Shinigami glanced around the area, taking in every small detail.

His eyes rested upon two figures before him. "Ishida! Sado-kun!"

Chad was unconscious whilst Ishida was wide awake. The Quincy looked badly injured, and one of Sado's arms were badly severed in multiple places. Ichigo's heart caught in his throat as he swallowed nervously. _I never thought it would come to this..._

Ishida barely spared a glance at Ichigo. _So you were caught too, Kurosaki...now, there's truly no way out of this..._

Silence fell in the room as Aizen walked slowly to Ishida. He grabbed the Quincy by his clothes and brought him up close. "As I was saying, Uryuu, before we were so rudely interrupted," Aizen began.

"**Let him go!!!**" Ichigo burst out in rage, struggling against the hold of his Arrancar. "Don't you **dare **lay a hand on Ishida!"

Aizen smiled and ignored the Shinigami. "Don't deny my request." He lowered his voice down to a whisper. "Join me, Quincy. Give me the power that I need to overcome this foolish world and Seireiti. Join me."

Ishida glared back. "Why? Why should I join you in your ridiculous quest of overcoming the world? I have no reason to help you pursue your foolish dreams."

Aizen pulled Ishida up to his face; so close that the two were almost touching nose-to-nose. "I'll tell you now, Quincy. You have no options. Agree now and I will spare your friends' lives. Deny, and they will be killed one by one, and more so, you will still aid us in the end. You said foolish dreams? They are dreams nonetheless. A dream is a dream. Your dream is your soul. Now, let's see what happens when I shatter **your **dream."

Ishida's eyes widened. "Wh-what?" _Killed…one by one…_He felt his entire body began to shake with fear. _Fear…fear of what? Fear of my dreams? What are my dreams? My friends? My friends that I have vowed to protect with my life?_

_For most of my life, I've been alone. After Sensei died, I was independent and lonely. Then Kurosaki invited me to his world, and from that moment, I finally began to understand the significance of having friends you could depend on all the time. That was what I was missing. That was my dream; that part of my soul._

_But, what is this now? I sworn to protect them; they have become a part of me. I can depend on them, but they can't depend on me. I'm not part of them; part of their dreams and part of their souls…_

"So what is it, Uryuu? You have little time left." Aizen's voice cut through Ishida's thoughts. The ex-captain motioned at an Arrancar, ordering it to bring Orihime to him. "You have one more minute or this girl's going first."

"ISHIDA! WHAT THE HELL IS HE SAYING TO YOU!?" Ichigo began to shout again. "Damn you, Aizen, leave Orihime and Ishida ALONE!"

Ishida sighed. _This guy…he's created an inescapable situation…I guess it leaves me no choice. To protect my friends, my dreams, my soul...the only way is to…**leave it all behind. **This friendship we've built on in the past few months…shall be broken._

He pulled away from Aizen and slowly stood up to face him. _Broken, but not completely severed. Shattered in pieces; it will take a long time to find them all and put them together. _

_I'll gather them up some day…and make it up to you…Ichigo Kurosaki._

Ishida met Aizen's eyes, all signs of emotion wiped from his face. "Aizen Sosuke: You leave me no choice. I accept your offer."

"Excellent." Aizen seemed extremely pleased.

"Upon doing so," Ishida continued. "Set them free and make sure no harm comes to them."

"Of course." Aizen began walking back to his throne. "I'll have them sent back to their world. But if they ever come back and attack us, keep in mind that the Espada would not hesitate to kill them…"

"**Uryuu Ishida!**" Ichigo shouted. "What gives?! Answer me, damnit-"

"Sorry, Kurosaki. I am no longer part of your allies." Ishida barely spared a glance at the Shinigami.

"No need to tell him. I will myself." Aizen began to pull out his zanpaktou slowly.

Ichigo suddenly froze in the middle of his rant, eyes widening in shock. "Wh-what?!"

"What'd you do?!" Ishida turned on Aizen. "You promised me you were going to set them free; not harm him more!"

Aizen shrugged. "Relax. I just updated him on your decision."

"What?" Ishida began.

"Ish-Ishida?!" The light had faded from Ichigo's eyes. "**WHY?! **You bastard – you betrayed us!" He began struggling against the Arrancar's grip furiously.

Ishida closed his eyes and sighed. _Let him go. He is not part of you anymore. You have a more important task to accomplish…_

A hard punch suddenly sent him flying into the wall. Ichigo had escaped from the Arrancar's grip, his hand still raised from his attack. "Damn you, Ishida," he cursed. "I thought we were friends! I can't believe you would join that bastard…You joined the bastard that dared to harm all of us!"

Ichigo began walking towards Ishida. "You'll pay, damnit! You'll pay for joining the bastard that hurt my friends. I'll hunt you down like the Espada…I'll-"

He began coughing violently, then suddenly sank to the ground, unconscious.

"My, my, he overdid himself." Ichimaru broke the silence that followed. "Do we take them out now, Aizen?"

"Yes. Please do so. Heal Ichigo and his comrades just enough so they will survive. Then send them back to their world safely."

"Of course." Ichimaru grabbed some Arrancar and they left the place, carrying Ichigo and his friends.

"They better get back there safe." Ishida spit out some broken teeth and blood as he rubbed the place where Ichigo had punched him.

"I already gave you my word. Don't worry." Aizen turned to face the remaining Arrancars in the room. "Kaname, I want you to get a healing unit here as fast as possible. Szayel overdid it with him. His injuries are rather severe. The rest: You are dismissed. Thank you for your hard work."

Low murmuring arose in the hall as the Arrancar filed out, one by one. Silence fell as Aizen and Ishida were left alone in the tower.

"How exactly are you planning to use me?" Ishida turned to Aizen. "I'm a weak Quincy. There is not much I can do for you when it comes to terms of battling."

"Weak? Quincy?" Aizen chuckled. "No, you've got it all wrong. Quincys have an unique ability. They have techniques that allow them to control reiatsu to form weapons and such. The Shinigamis and the Hollows don't possess this kind of ability."

"And what of it?" Ishida retorted. "You told me earlier that I was needed to awake the Hougyoku and multiply its power greatly. I don't believe I have the capacity to do anything like that."

Aizen laughed. "You misunderstand me. If you don't have the capacity, then I can give it to you. Is power what you need? I shall give it to you. Is glory what you want? I shall give it to you. In the same way, you will work for me as I have the tools necessary to exceed all capacities."

Ishida's eyes narrowed. "And what will you do?"

Aizen opened his hands, allowing the bright light of Hougyoku to fill the place. "It's simple actually. Give you the power you need to accomplish my goals."

* * *

A/N: I'm not so sure how Ukitake and Kyoraku usually address each other...I think they call each other Ukitake and Kyoraku simply, but...XD

Best regards,

Artingdle~


	2. Decisions

*rubs head sheepishly* It was supposed to come out earlier, but I sort of slacked off. Oh, and thanks for **Lanny9000990009, Loveless-Gin, Mizz-Madam, and Haddrell **for reviewing. I personally didn't expect that much since I found writing in Bleach much more harder than Naruto.

Oh yes, I think I screwed up my PM settings somehow, but you guys can PM me now...O_O

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. If I did, Aizen would not have such a cheap Zanpaktou...*mutter* That bastard...

* * *

Urahara Kisuke rubbed the brim of his hat and sighed. "I knew this would happen." He ran his eyes slowly over the battered and injured bodies of Ichigo and his friends.

"Urahara-dono." The door slid open and Tessai Tsukabishi walked in. "Ururu and I did our best. So far, we have stabilized Orihime only. She was only knocked out with a minor head injury, but the others..." He trailed off in the middle of his sentence.

"I see." Urahara paused a moment to give the unconscious wounded another look. "And the others?" he asked again.

Tessai looked dejected. "His injuries, along with Sado-san and Kuchiki-san, are very severe. Sado-san almost lost his entire arm, Kuchiki was on point of death, and Kurosaki-san has nearly all the bones in his body broken. There were also punctures in several parts of his lung and a small part of his heart. We'll have to see if he makes it or not."

Urahara fell silent as he kneeled down by Ichigo's cotbed. "He'll pull through," the ex-captain said softly. "I'm sure of it." He glanced over the other beds. "Haven't you noticed, Tessai? Ishida-san and Abarai-san is missing."

Tessai grunted in reply. "It came to me a while ago. You don't think...?"

Urahara waved his cane, cutting him off. "Dead? Probably not...I found the four of them at my front door yesterday night. Someone must have let them live and dumped them there. I also discovered traces of Hollow reiatsu all over the place, which just heightens my suspicions."

"So what are you suggesting, Urahara-dono?" Tessai asked.

Urahara's face darkened. "It's either as you say: they're both dead...or, one of them, or even both, has betrayed us out of force or will..."

Tessai's eyes widened. "No-no way! Urahara-dono, how could you-?!"

Urahara interrupted him with another wave of his cane. "Think of it, Tessai. They were left outside, _injured_. If someone else besides the Arrancar dumped them there, wouldn't they have been healed a bit at least? And why would anyone do that and not tell us in any way? And who else would know in Hueco Mundo better than to leave Ichigo and his friends there?"

Tessai shook his head. "Still, Urahara-dono...there are many possibilities....what if-" A frantic knocking on the door cut through their conversation.

Urahara gathered up his cane and slid open the door. "Tell me later, Tessai. We have visitors." He exited the room and hurried to his shop door.

"Yo, Kisuke!" Five captains of Sereiti stood armed and ready at Urahara's door. Each held a look of impatience and anxiousness upon his face.

Kenpachi waved his Zanpaktou in Urahara's face. "Yo," he repeated again. "We're here on duty! Hurry up and open a damn portal to Hueco Mundo."

Urahara blinked dumbly at the captains. "Zaraki-san? Ukitake-san? Kyoraku-san? Kuchiki-san? Kurotsuchi-san? You five? Why are you here? Why'd Sereiti dispatch five of its best captains to Hueco Mundo?"

"Ahem." Ukitake stepped forward and handed Urahara a small scroll. "Upon researching the other day in a forbidden part of the library, Kyoraku and I found this. It had traces of Sosuke's reiatsu all over it. Take a look, would you?"

Urahara accepted the scroll and slowly began to unfurl it. He ran his eyes over the contents of the scroll at a rapid pace. "Don't tell me...this...this is all true?!"

Ukitake sighed. "We don't know for sure. We've been conducting research for the past few days."

"Excuse me." Kurotsuchi shoved his way to the front and took back the scroll. "As Ukitake just said, I've been running scans and experiments on the contents of the scroll. I can't deny the fact that if Hougyaku is exposed to such reiatsu it would waken immediately with overflowing power, but the problem is how that bastard Sosuke gives the Quincy such power. So I've tried coming up with hypotheses on possibilities, but sadly to say, I hit a dead end."

"And to take precautions, Yama-jiji sent us five captains to Hueco Mundo," Kyoraku finished. "So here we are now."

Urahara stood frowning at the captains, rubbing his Zanpaktou anxiously. _They...they were too late..._

"What is it, Kisuke?" Kenpachi clapped a strong hand on the ex-captain's shoulder. "Hurry up or I'll run you through with my Zanpaktou!"

"It's...it's not that. I'm afraid you guys came a bit too late..."

A long silence followed Urahara's words. Kyoraku placed a hand over his hat and pulled it over his eyes. "I told you people. We didn't come fast enough. Yama-sensei should never had left that girl's rescue in Kurosaki's hands. Think of it: Five people against all of the Hollows in Hueco Mundo..._and _that fool Sosuke with his Arrancars. What the hell was Yama-jiji thinking?!"

Byakuya glared at Kyoraku. "No need for extra words, Kyoraku. There's nothing much we can do now but to continue our mission and rescue the Quincy before things turn more serious. And Kisuke, why did you say we were too late?"

Urahara glanced towards the direction of his shop. "Kuchiki Rukia-san, Sado-san, Kurosaki-san, and Orihime-san were left on the ground in front of my shop last night. They were on point of death so my helpers and I did our best to save them. When I went out later to investigate the area, I found traces of Hollow reiatsu everywhere...and it came to mind earlier that Abarai-san and Ishida-san were missing...you follow?"

"I see. So you suspect that they had betrayed us in means of saving Ichigo and the others?" Kyoraku asked.

"The other possibility would be that they were dead, but it's most likely one or both of them betrayed Ichigo and his friends." Urahara turned and waved the captains into the shop.

"Our orders were to rescue the Quincy and his comrades. Since some have come back safely, then it would just make our mission easier." Byakuya was the first to follow Urahara inside. "How's Rukia, Kisuke?"

"Not good, I'm afraid. Alongside Ichigo, she was on the verge of death. Tessai and Ururu's doing their best to save all of them. Please do not worry, Kuchiki-san." Urahara motioned the captains into a large room, complete with a table and several cushions to sit on. "Could we talk this over before you captains try to do anything rash?"

Kenpachi poked Urahara with his Zapanktou. "I just told you a moment ago to open a portal to Hueco Mundo. Now hurry the damn up!"

Urahara gently moved Kenpachi's Zanpaktou away from his face. "I guess it's like you to rush into things, Zaraki-san. My point here is-"

"Don't save the damn bastard." All captains turned to look as Ichigo stumbled into the hall, his bandages trailing over the floor behind him. He steadied himself with a hand on his wall, ignoring the fresh blood that seeped over his face from his wrapped head. "Don't save him...he's not worth your time..."

Urahara rushed over to Ichigo, gently pushing him back inside the infirmary. "What are you doing, Ichigo?! You're in no condition to move around with wounds like that; move one more step and you just might die on the spot."

"Then let me get this clear now!" Ichigo pushed away Urahara with one arm. "Ishida's the one who betrayed us! I saw it, damnit! He agreed to betray us in exchange for power; he's sharing dreams with Aizen to destroy Shinigami and Soul Society! There's no need to rescue that bastard, I'm going to go kill him myself-!"

"Enough, Kurosaki." Urahara took hold of Ichigo's shoulder and forced him back onto his bed. "Thank you for updating the captains on the situation, but killing Ishida-san can come later. You need rest or those wounds will get worse."

"Oh?" Kurotsuchi walked up to Ichigo. "So the Quincy betrayed us? How about the Abarai?"

Ichigo frowned. "Now that I think of it, I didn't see him when Aizen had us all gathered in that room..."

"He's most likely dead then." Kyoraku and the other captains shuffled in and gathered around Ichigo. "Tell us what happened, Kurosaki."

Ichigo shrugged. "Fine. I lost the fight against several Arrancar, and just when I thought I was going to get killed, some messengers came and said that Aizen had a change of plans. I was tied up (Orihime happened to be with me in my fight) and brought to this tower to meet Aizen. For some reason, everyone happened to be here, except for Renji, but I guess was I was too confused at that point to notice. Aizen seemed to be threatening Ishida at first, but later on, as I watched, Ishida agreed to everything Aizen said, and even expressed his opinions freely in front of me. He told Aizen he had always wanted to get rid of Shinigamis and would be glad...to kill me once Aizen gave him enough power. I guess he was playing along with us the entire time while really working under Aizen to get my friends and I killed."

Urahara seemed to be considering this thoroughly. "And what happened next?"

Ichigo rubbed his head in puzzlement. "I'm not sure. I guess I got so mad that I rushed up to punch Ishida...then I don't remember what happened after that. Perhaps I passed out."

Urahara nodded and stood up, addressing the captains before him. "Before we jump to any conclusions, my fellow captains, we must keep in mind what Aizen's Zanpaktou can do. This applies to you too, Ichigo."

Ichigo frowned. "You mean complete hypnosis?"

"That's right. Half of what you just told us may be inaccurate information."

Ichigo slammed his fist on the cotbed. "No way! I didn't even see Aizen draw his sword. Besides, Ishida's logic was-"

"Kurosaki." Kyoraku sighed and placed a reassuring hand on the Shinigami's shoulder. "I think you're too blinded by rage to think Ishida-san thoroughly. Is he the type of person that would betray you and your friends so easily?"

Ichigo blinked. "No...but, he always hated Shinigami because of his past..."

"Well then, there's no need to get all worked up about it...it may be true he hates Shinigami for wiping out the Quincys and avoiding to save his sensei in time, but friends must be more important to him than the past, and you've shown him that, Ichigo. So before we have any proof, please lay off your rage. It would do us more harm than help by now." Kyoraku patted Ichigo again and stood up.

"So what's the situation now?" Ukitake asked.

"We still need to rescue the Quincy no matter what...remember we're here to prevent Sereiti from collapsing." Byakuya stood up from his sister's side and slid open to the door. "Make us a portal to Hueco Mundo, Kisuke. We're leaving -now."

Urahara sighed. "Very well then. Come with me."

Kenpachi shouldered his Zanpaktou and grinned. "Finally, some action. Don't worry, Ichigo, I got that fool's ass for you."

"I'm going too, Kenpachi!" Ichigo tried to get out of bed again.

Tessai and Ururu suddenly appeared behind him, carrying ropes. "No you're not, Kurosaki. Now be a nice boy and stay in bed or you'll be feeling these ropes," Tessai grunted.

Kenpachi's laughter could be heard from all the way down the hall. "Hurry and rest up. I'll be fighting you next after I fry some Hollow in Hueco Mundo."

* * *

Ishida's panic could clearly be heard in his voice. "What- what did you say?!"

Aizen smiled and fingered the Hougyaku in his hand lovingly. "You heard me, Uryuu. Szayel has done some wonderful research for me over the past several days. We've come to conclusions on how to hand you the power you need to help me."

"By what?! Turning me into one of your disgusting Arrancars?! I don't see how things would work out that way - I would lose my humanity and my Quincy powers. And didn't you say earlier that it was a gamble? Some turn out strong - strong enough to become an Espada, but some turn out weak! Besides that fact, there's no guarantee that I could become a Vaste Lorde in the process! Keep me away from your Hollow techniques!" Ishida withdrew Aizen's manual from inside his cloak and tossed it to the ground by Aizen's feet.

"Settle down, settle down." Ichimaru rested a hand on Ishida's shoulder. "That's why Aizen has all these Arrancars working for him. That one, Szayel, is particularly smart."

"Well said, Gin." Aizen bent and picked up the manual Ishida had thrown. "He's managed to erase all chances of what you've mentioned happening. It'll all go smoothly - just how all my plans do."

Ishida glared. "Would you care to show me then?"

"Gladly." Aizen waved a hand at the door. "You may come in now."

Two figures entered the room, one of whom Ishida recognized. "You..." He scowled at Espada 8 as his brain brought up some of the more painful times he'd spent with him.

Szayel gave Ishida a reassuring smile and set down a stack of papers in front of Aizen. "I've completed what you asked of me, Aizen-sama. With some long research, we've stamped out the remaining 10% failure."

"Just what I'd expect from you, Szayel." Aizen began reading through the papers, nodding in approval as he did so. "Perfect. Would you care to explain everything to Uryuu before we begin?"

"Of course." Szayel coughed and pushed his glasses up his nose in a very scientist-like manner. "Now listen up, Quincy. I heard what you said to Aizen earlier. We've taken all that under consideration...and even more. I started research on you first, since it is always vital to know both sides of the experiment." He cleared his throat and ran through his papers again. "Your Quincy power is like a piece of all the puzzles that make up your body, Quincy. Take it away, there's not going to be much damage...Recall time where you lost it with a fight against a Shinigami..."

"How...how do you know?"

"As I mentioned, your Quincy powers are a part of a puzzle that makes up your body. When you overused them, they were shut away. Since your body has the ability to do that, I figured: Why not take it out, then put it back in?"

"What-?"

Szayel raised a hand to stop Ishida. "Wait till I'm done explaining. From what first you said, you said you would lose your humanity and your Quincy powers. Your humanity is no problem...you agreed with us from the start to work with us. Do we need to further that agreement with Aizen's personal use of his Zanpaktou?"

Ishida blanched at the thought of Aizen's Zanpaktou and quickly shook his head. When he first began working with the man, Aizen had showed him some of the many things his Zanpaktou could do...the horrible memories always remained in the back of his head.

"Good. Then onto the next topic...about losing your Quincy power, I've come up with a process of taking them out first before we do anything to you. Then when we completed the Arrancar process, we'll put them back inside you. About becoming a Vaste Lorde: It's not the only way to give you the power Aizen needs. But there's no need to worry about that...your body is quite special, there's small quirks here and there...hmm..." Szayel trailed off while glancing over several papers.

"That's a good enough explanation, my good Espada. We have wasted enough time for today." Aizen stood up from his chair. "Let's get this started. Didn't you say the process could take up to a month?"

Szayel coughed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I've reduced that time to a week at most, Aizen-sama," the Espada said, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Excellent." Aizen smiled. He waved at Szayel's assistant. "Now, let's get this started, will we?"

Ishida's face became even paler. _When I agreed with them, I didn't agree to become a damn Hollow! I'm destroying my loyalty to sensei…_His right hand slowly curled into a tight fist. A_nd even more so, it's going to become harder to make things up to Kurosaki. Have I truly become an enemy to him?_

"Stand up, Uryuu. If you really would like to know, I got reports of some Shinigami captains moving in…Kurosaki may be among them. I've set up ambushes all over the area they're coming in." Aizen narrowed his eyes. "Don't cooperate, and we'll target Kurosaki first. Do you understand?"

Ishida nodded and resisted the urge to retch beside him. He shakily stood up, forcing himself to take deep breaths. "I…understand."

"Good." Aizen smiled…then knocked Ishida out with a blow from his hand.

* * *

**In Ichimaru's Room: (Half-omake)**

Gin Ichimaru lay on his bed, staring up at the ceilings with open eyes. "Oh dear..."

One of the two Arrancars guarding his door glanced at him. "What is it, Ichimaru-sama?"

Ichimaru grinned sheepishly at rubbed the back at his head. "Nothing much...I just remembered that I forgot to assign a healing unit for Kurosaki-kun and his friends. Oh well, they'll pull through."

The Arrancar nodded seriously and turned away. "Those Shinigami are crazy."

* * *

**A/N**: It came out shorter than the 4k thing I usually dish out, but I wanted to save Ishida's process for the next chapter. I already have it half-typed...feel free to ask me any questions if some part of the process is confusing...The puzzle thing is actually rather logical of sorts. ;)

The mini rant Ishida had at Aizen reminded me of Episode 198 where he's getting mad at Mayuri for putting bacteria in him.

Oh, and is it clear what Aizen showed Ichigo?

Anyhow, the next chapter will come up ASAP once I perfect the chapter. Hopefully then, everything would become clear.

Best regards,

~Artingdle


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